The postdoctoral program in reading acquisition and reading disabilities at Haskins Laboratories will provide research training, a supportive research environment, and opportunities for advanced coursework at affiliated universities. The range of research opportunities, the nature of the research involvement, and the choice of coursework (if any) will be tailored for each fellow. On entry into the program, fellows will establish an informal advisory committee that will provide guidance and support for the fellow's research plans and course of study. Fellows may initially choose to participate in an ongoing research project at the Laboratories;however, they may instead undertake their own project. Postdoctoral fellows will be encouraged to attend the regular research colloquia at Haskins that take place nearly every week. The lectures feature speakers from around the world as well as researchers on the staff at Haskins. In the past, a broad array of topics on language and literacy has been addressed in the colloquia including neuropsychological and genetic studies of reading, intervention research, studies of speech perception and production, investigations of syntactic development, and much more. Although taking courses is not the central aim of the postdoctoral training, individuals may wish to broaden or deepen their expertise in specific areas relevant to their research and professional goals. Course options are available at Yale University, University of Connecticut and University of Rhode Island. The duration of the training will be two years, and we expect to accept two post doctoral fellows into the program in each of four years. Relevance: the abilities to read and write are critical to individuals'chances for success in our society. We are bringing to bear findings of scientifically based reading research to class room instruction. Our plan is to train scientists to assist in this goal by enhancing relevant scientific knowledge and by helping to implement the knowledge in the classroom.